Update on my dog bite & chase incident. The council have the footage & they have located the owner. They have had an initial discussion with him. A further meeting is to take place shortly. In the interim he has agreed to keep the dogs on leash at all times. I saw him yesterday with the dogs and they were on leash in the off leash area which of course I am pleased with.

Not really to criticise but hopefully they post here and will read this and improve their safety.

OK in ACT a couple of mornings for the last few weeks I have noticed a bloke riding a recumbent down Benjamin Way in Belconnen.

It has a funny fairing bit behind the rider but the front half looks like a standard recumbent.

So as we know recumbents sit low. Lower than where a window starts on a car door. This is why recumbent riders usually have flags sticking up on the rear of the bike. This increases the riders visibility.

The rider I have been seeing has no flag, you are actually quite invisible going down that road. On Thursday I could see the driver in the car starting to freak out a little when they went past you in the other lane then you disappeared from her vision as you were along side but below the viewing area of the window.

malnar wrote:Update on my dog bite & chase incident. The council have the footage & they have located the owner. They have had an initial discussion with him. A further meeting is to take place shortly. In the interim he has agreed to keep the dogs on leash at all times. I saw him yesterday with the dogs and they were on leash in the off leash area which of course I am pleased with.

Good result - as a sometimes pedestrian I wouldn't want to be near those dogs. Hope that prevents any further incidents.

Lost it with a ped today. He told me off for not ringing my bell before passing him. I unpolitely launched and told him that if he took his #%^**£ earphones out he would have £%#}[*^ heard me call "passing". I had a bad week at work, he picked the wrong time to set me off. But seriously, 90+% of them wouldn't hear a 747 up their bottoms these days due to earphones/headphones/smartphone usage, and to blame others for their own lack of awareness just does my head in. No, I don't have a bell, and when I used to have one it didn't work either. Airzound is now officially on the shopping list, I don't care if they crap themselves.

I know how you feel I get the complusion to rip the things out of there ears so very often.

Donald

BCC give us some more bikeways fore safe travel!!!!Upgrade the NCL now QR!!!!!!http://nakedcyclistbrissy.blogspot.com/My views do not represent any organisation I may be apart of unless otherwise stated

twizzle wrote:Lost it with a ped today. He told me off for not ringing my bell before passing him. I unpolitely launched and told him that if he took his #%^**£ earphones out he would have £%#}[*^ heard me call "passing". I had a bad week at work, he picked the wrong time to set me off. But seriously, 90+% of them wouldn't hear a 747 up their bottoms these days due to earphones/headphones/smartphone usage, and to blame others for their own lack of awareness just does my head in. No, I don't have a bell, and when I used to have one it didn't work either. Airzound is now officially on the shopping list, I don't care if they crap themselves.

I only just noticed where you're located! Do you ever ride in or around Palmerston? Cos if so, I might have seen you!

It's probably not you, cos the dude that's nearly run me over twice doesn't even yell anything to me. (Since taking up cycling, I don't use ear phones on shared paths any more).

The bloke doing the Tour de Gungahlin doesn't have a bell either (nor is he even wearing a helmet sometimes). It makes me really, really mad.

A bell weighs nothing. A bell comes with your bike to meet Australian standards, and if it doesnt, the seller is obliged to provide you one for free. And if you forget, what are they, like a couple of bucks?

I realise that you called out for him - but get yourself that AZ dude, because in my view, rather than assuming how loud his music was or how inattentive he was, you should consider your own wrongdoing in riding a bike that doesn't meet Australian standards. There's a reason that a bell, and not a voice, is the requirement for the standard.

This is less about you, its more about this cyclist that doesn't care that he's in a heavily residential area, and that kids and animals use that path. So don't take too much offence.

But I've heard all the justifications - and there's no excuse for not having a bell. To not have a bell and to expect everyone else to use paths on your terms is arrogant and it lacks respect. (And if people want to use the "some road bikes aren't sold with bells", then firstly - see above, get them to give you one. Secondly, ride on the roads, not on shared paths.)

I never use a bell when passing pedestrians on shared paths. It just makes them unpredictable. I used to, but too many peds would hear the bell and change their line, which way they moved was totally random. Through experience I don't use the bell as it causes more problems than it solves on a shared path. On the road to warn an about to jaywalk ped it is very useful, on a shared path it makes matters worse.

Yeah Twiz, get one of these from Velogear and still be ignored by the skullwired cretins...

I got one to pad an order up to free shipping and hung it on my FG pathfighter. It gives my fingers something to do in the absence of shifters. It works a charm with normal polite humans and most animals if you give them a brrrriing about 20-30m back. With the skullwired, this might penetrate...I find the sound will stop most CBD redmanners in their tracks.

Shaun

...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.London Boy 29/12/2011

Mulger bill wrote:Yeah Twiz, get one of these from Velogear and still be ignored by the skullwired cretins...

I got one to pad an order up to free shipping and hung it on my FG pathfighter. It gives my fingers something to do in the absence of shifters. It works a charm with normal polite humans and most animals if you give them a brrrriing about 20-30m back. With the skullwired, this might penetrate...Shaun

fatdudeonabike wrote:I realise that you called out for him - but get yourself that AZ dude, because in my view, rather than assuming how loud his music was or how inattentive he was, you should consider your own wrongdoing in riding a bike that doesn't meet Australian standards. There's a reason that a bell, and not a voice, is the requirement for the standard.

No, don't ride Palmerston much.

Now, just so you are clear on your argument, bicycles are required by the Australian Standards to be SOLD with a bell. Once out the door, that doesn't apply. And I build my bikes, so I don't get one in the box.

Riding a bicycle on a road under the Australian Road Rules, a bicycle is required to have a "bell, horn or similar warning device". Never having had the discussion with the police, I haven't tried the "yelling is my warning device" argument. I do NOT expect to get away with it.

The bells provided with bikes these days are proxy shite - the best bell I have ever had was from my 1980's Apollo II... and a few years back when I fitted it to the last complete bike I bought, I got abused by some deaf old bint who told me off because "You didn't ring your bell" when I flipping well had. She had to be deaf, but apparently that's MY problem.

Peds on phones, peds talking to other peds, peds with wires out their ears - they are all off in a different world. You can pick the aware ones, they hold up a hand or call "thanks" when I call "passing". The others jump, either when they hear me and don't expect it... or when they don't hear me and I pass. I'm still going to use my voice as the primary warning, it doesn't scare people as badly... but the in attentive are not going to like my next warning device.

But I've heard all the justifications - and there's no excuse for not having a bell. To not have a bell and to expect everyone else to use paths on your terms is arrogant and it lacks respect. (And if people want to use the "some road bikes aren't sold with bells", then firstly - see above, get them to give you one. Secondly, ride on the roads, not on shared paths.)

Hi fatdudeonabike,I reckon its all in the interpretation of the law, My bell certainly gets the attention of the average ped with ear phones.... It came with directions "bong against hard objects" I havent figured out what that means yet.

i have a bell on (some of) my bikes. it's useful for riding shared paths. if i want more cred as a rider, i go and do more intervals or hills. no one's going to be impressed that you don't have a bell.